JP5447347B2 - Route search apparatus and route search method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a route search apparatus and a route search method for searching for a route.

  This type of route search apparatus has been developed in various modes (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). In the technical idea of Patent Document 1, it is proposed to set a past travel route as a guidance route, and a point corresponding to the end of the travel route that has traveled in the past is set as the departure point, and the start point of the travel route. A guide route is set with the corresponding point as the destination. Further, in the technical idea described in Patent Document 2, the actual departure travel route for the calculated route is stored and reflected in the next calculated route.

JP 10-89996 A JP 2001-124578 A

  When the user travels back and forth from the starting point to the destination, the road that passes through for the first time has no knowledge of the road conditions on the way, so the mental burden during the reciprocating movement is strong. Therefore, according to the technical idea of the above-mentioned patent document, the mental load on the user is alleviated by setting the same road as the forward path as a return path when reciprocating.

  However, according to the technical idea of the above-mentioned patent document, when the traveling route of the outward route is, for example, one-way, and there is a part that violates the traffic rule when traveling on the return route, the total cost is In some cases, the user may be guided along a high return route, or may be guided along a return route that is considerably different from the outward route. In this case, when reciprocating from the departure place to the destination, the mental burden on the user is not alleviated.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a purpose thereof is a route search method and a route search device that can reduce the user's mental burden as much as possible when the user reciprocates from the departure place to the destination. Is to provide.

  According to the first and eleventh aspects of the present invention, a round trip route that minimizes the total cost of the forward route among the round trip routes that satisfy the condition in which the forward route and the return route coincide with each other is specified, and the difference from the specified minimum total cost is the first. 1 Since a round trip route consisting of an outbound route having a total cost of less than a predetermined value is extracted and used as a search result candidate, it is possible to narrow down the outbound route so that the total cost of the outbound route is minimized as much as possible.

  Further, among the extracted round-trip routes, the round-trip route having the minimum total cost of the return route is specified, and the round-trip route consisting of the return route having the total cost whose difference from the specified minimum total cost is less than the second predetermined value is extracted. In order to obtain the search result of the round trip route, it is possible to narrow down the total cost of the return route as much as possible for the route in which the forward route and the return route match. For this reason, the user can return to the return path that coincides with the forward path and the total cost is reduced as much as possible, and can increase the user's sense of security both when the path is set and when the path is reciprocated. . Thereby, a user's mental burden can be reduced as much as possible.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the total load of the round-trip path is satisfied in order to satisfy the condition of the first aspect and further use the round trip path search result of the round trip path with the least total sum of the total costs of the forward path and the return path. Less routes can be set, and the mental burden on the user can be reduced.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the total cost of the return path is calculated in consideration of the time zone during which the user passes the outbound path, the total cost of the outbound path can be calculated in accordance with the user's actual movement mode, and is more practical. A simple route.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the total cost of the return path is calculated in consideration of the time zone during which the user passes the return path, the total cost of the return path can be calculated in accordance with the actual movement mode of the user. A simple route.

  According to the invention described in claim 5, in order to partially apply the experience route that has moved in the past, and to search for a route in which the forward route and the return route partially match for a route that has not moved in the past, Since the user travels back and forth on a route including a road that has been experienced in the past, the user can increase a sense of security and can reduce the user's mental burden as much as possible.

According to the invention described in claims 6 and 8-11, since it is determined that the routes match when the predetermined condition is satisfied, a more practical route can be searched.
According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, when there is a divergence of the first predetermined time or more between the arrival time of the round trip route in which the forward route and the return route coincide with the shortest arrival time of the forward route, and / or the forward route If there is a divergence greater than or equal to the second predetermined time between the return arrival time of the round trip route that matches the return route and the shortest arrival time of the return route, the route that matches the forward route and the return route and the arrival time of the forward / return route Then, the shortest arrival route for each forward / return route and the arrival time of the forward / return route are searched and notified.

  For this reason, the user can know the round trip route and the arrival time of the forward route and the return route when the forward route and the return route match, the shortest arrival route for each forward route / return route, and the arrival time of the forward route / return route. Can pass by selecting a desired route.

  The “total cost of the outbound path” and the “total cost of the outbound path” in the present invention are numerical values of the total load when the user drives the outbound path or the outbound path when the mobile body is a vehicle, for example. For example, the total cost from the departure point to the destination is the distance from the departure point to the destination, the number of lanes on the road, the number of turns on the right, the number of turns on the left, whether or not there is traffic congestion on the road, and the vehicle traffic on the road The figure shows the result of counting by replacing at least part or all of the elements such as regulations, the presence / absence of merging and the number of merging, the number of lane changes, and the like as a whole.

  Therefore, if the total cost is high, for example, in the case of a vehicle, the driving load is high, and if the total cost is low, the driving load is low. For example, even in the case of a route search device possessed by a pedestrian instead of a vehicle, if the distance from the starting point to the destination is long, the movement load is high, and if the distance is short, the movement load is low. The present invention can be similarly applied even when a route search device is possessed.

1 is a block diagram schematically showing an electrical configuration in a first embodiment of the present invention. Illustration of link definition Flow chart explaining route guidance processing Flowchart explaining route search processing Explanatory diagram for explaining the coincidence of the forward path and the return path Explanatory diagram showing an example of the total cost of the round trip route Explanatory diagram showing an example of the route FIG. 7 equivalent diagram showing a comparative example Explanatory drawing which shows the example of a route setting in 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows an example of movement history information System configuration diagram showing a third embodiment of the present invention

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, a first embodiment in which a route search method and a route search device according to the present invention are applied to a vehicle navigation device will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a vehicle navigation apparatus.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle navigation device 1 includes a control device 2. The control device (control unit) 2 includes a position detector 3, a map data input device 4, an operation switch group 5, and VICS (registered trademark). A receiver 6, a communication device 7, an external memory 8, a display device 9, a voice controller 10, a voice recognition unit 11, and a remote control sensor 12 are connected. A remote control 13 is connected to the remote control sensor 12 by infrared rays, a speaker 14 is connected to the voice controller 10, and a microphone 15 is connected to the voice recognition unit 11.

  The control device 2 is configured mainly with a microcomputer, for example, and includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and an I / O bus (all not shown), and executes various control programs to operate the entire device. To control. The route search device A is realized by software executed by the control device 2.

  The position detector 3 includes a G sensor 3a, a gyroscope 3b, a distance sensor 3c, a GPS receiver 3d, and the like, and each of these components has detection errors having different properties. The control device 2 interpolates the detection signals input from these components to identify the current position of the vehicle.

  In this case, the position detector 3 does not need to include all of these components as long as the current position of the vehicle can be detected with the required detection accuracy. The wheel sensor etc. which detect rotation of a wheel may be combined and comprised.

  The map data input device 4 is loaded with a recording medium such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, memory card or HDD, and inputs map data, map matching data, and the like. The operation switch group 5 includes mechanical keys arranged around the display device 9 and touch keys formed on the display screen of the display device 9. For example, the user performs some operation (for example, menu display selection, destination setting, When it is detected that route search, route guidance start, display screen change, volume adjustment, and the like have been performed, an operation detection signal is output to the control device 2.

  The VICS receiver 6 performs wide area communication through the wide area communication network, and receives the VICS information transmitted from the VICS center apparatus (not shown) through the wide area communication network. The external memory 8 is composed of a mass storage device such as an HDD.

  The display device 9 is composed of, for example, a color liquid crystal display, and displays various display screens such as a menu selection screen, a destination setting screen, a route guidance screen, and a current position mark indicating a current position of the vehicle, a traveling locus, and the like. Overlays the map data on the map. The display device 9 may be composed of an organic EL, a plasma display device, or the like.

  The voice controller 10 outputs, for example, a warning sound or guidance voice for route guidance from the speaker 14. The operation of the voice recognition unit 11 is controlled by the control device 2, and in the activated state, the voice input from the microphone 15 is set in a state where voice recognition is possible according to the voice recognition algorithm. When receiving the operation detection signal transmitted from the remote controller 13, the remote control sensor 12 outputs the received operation detection signal to the control device 2.

  The control device 2 specifies a road where the current position of the vehicle exists using a map data acquisition unit that acquires map data, the current position of the vehicle, and road data in the map data acquired by the map data acquisition unit. A map matching unit, a route search unit 2a for searching for a route from the current position of the vehicle specified by the map matching unit to a destination set by the user, a route searched by the route search unit, road data in the map data, A route guidance unit that calculates routes necessary for route guidance based on location data at intersections, a route control unit that draws a map around the current position of the vehicle, a schematic diagram of an expressway, an enlarged view near the intersection, etc. Etc. The route search unit 2a operates as route search means.

FIG. 2 shows an outline of road data stored as map data.
The map data is constituted by road data including a node N set at the center of each intersection C and a link L connecting the nodes N. For example, in a straight road with one lane on one side, as shown in FIG. 2, considering the case where the vehicle Ca is passing on the left side, a link L connecting the nodes N set at the center of each intersection C is a road. It is set at the center in the width direction.

  In this link L, a plurality of shape points are set while connecting a plurality of nodes N, and shape data (for example, width, height, etc.) is set corresponding to the plurality of shape points. Road data corresponding to the shape data is stored. Each link L has a link ID (link identification information), and is managed in a state in which a different ID (identification information) is assigned to each road connecting the intersection C and each road having a different road width. .

A description will be given of a route search method in the case where the user makes a round trip between the outgoing route Ra and the return route Rb between the departure point and the destination at the departure point.
In general, when a user uses route guidance of a navigation function, it is used, for example, when traveling on an unknown road. In particular, there may be a case where a specific user such as a woman only needs to reciprocate from a departure place (current position) to a destination without moving to another facility. In such a case, when setting the outbound route Ra from the departure point to the destination, it is preferable that both the outbound route Ra and the return route Rb (reciprocal route) can be set. Then, since the user can return to the return route Rb by making use of the experience of traveling on the outward route Ra, a sense of security can be obtained both when traveling on the outbound route Ra and when traveling on the return route Rb. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the outbound route Ra from the departure location to the destination is set at the departure location, both the outbound route Ra and the return route Rb can be set.

  FIG. 3 schematically shows the route guidance process by a flowchart. First, a destination is set by a user operation of the operation switch group 5 (S1). When the destination is set, the control device 2 performs a round-trip route search process from the current position to the destination (S2). In this route search process, a search is made for a return route Rb from the destination to the departure point (current position) as well as a search for the outgoing route Ra from the departure point (current position) to the destination.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the route search process. First, in the route search process, the control device 2 searches for the outbound route Ra from the departure point (current position) to the destination using the Dijkstra method (T1). Next, the control device 2 searches for a return route Rb that coincides with the outward route Ra from the destination to the current position (T2), and determines whether there is a route (reciprocal route) that matches the outward route Ra and the return route Rb. (T3).

  Here, “the outbound path and the inbound path (round-trip path) match” means that the following conditions (1) to (3) satisfy at least one or a plurality including (1) or a condition including all are included. ing.

(1) If the forward path Ra and the return path Rb are links L having the same link ID, the forward path Ra and the return path Rb match.
(2) Even when the forward path Ra and the return path Rb are different link IDs, they coincide when all of the following conditions (A) to (D) are satisfied.

(A) Same road name (excludes this condition if there is no name)
(B) Same road type (C) Direction difference of reverse vector of each link L is within predetermined value (D) Distance between each link L is within predetermined distance (3) Expressway interchange (IC), When the links L are respectively configured for the junction (JCT), the links L before and after the link L of the interchange and the links L before and after the link L of the junction are determined to match if the condition (2) is satisfied. . The condition (2) may be considered by adding the condition that (E) each link L is one-way and the directions that can be passed are opposite.

  The condition (1) considers that one link L is set on a one-way, one-lane road, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, and in this case, the link IDs match. Therefore, it is determined that the forward path Ra and the return path Rb match. The condition (2) targets roads that are separated from each other and can run in opposite directions.

  FIG. 5 shows an explanation of the condition (2). The road R1 shown in FIG. 5 is one-way in the upward direction in the figure, and the road R2 is one-way in the downward direction in the figure. This takes into consideration the case where an obstacle exists between the road R1 and the road R2, such as an expressway, and the road is provided avoiding the obstacle.

  In the map data, separate links L1 and L2 may be attached to each road R1 and R2, and these links L1 and L2 may be stored for each road R1 and R2. In this case, the traffic direction of the road R1 and the traffic direction of the road R2 are substantially opposite.

  In such a case, as shown in (2) (A), the road name may be set to be the same or the road name may not be given to the map data. Further, as shown in (B) of (2), the road type (national road, prefectural road, city road, etc.) is set to be the same in the map data. Therefore, it is preferable to determine whether or not the forward path Ra and the return path Rb coincide with each other as (2) (A) and (B).

  Further, although the directions of the road R1 and the road R2 shown in FIG. 5 are almost opposite to each other, there is a slight difference in direction. Therefore, as shown in (C) of (2), it is preferable to determine that the forward path Ra and the backward path Rb coincide with each other on the condition that the direction difference θ of the reverse vector of the link L is set within a predetermined value.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, although the directions of the road R1 and the road R2 are set to be substantially opposite to each other, the distance W is slightly separated between the road R1 and the road R2. Therefore, as shown in (D) of (2), it may be determined that the forward path Ra and the return path Rb match on condition that the distance W between the links L is arranged within a predetermined distance. Such (2) (C) and (D) should be one of the conditions. By adding the condition (2), it is possible to determine the “matched outbound path Ra and return path Rb (reciprocal path)” so as to match the impression that the user normally travels on the road as much as possible, and determine an accurate path. Processing can be performed.

  In other words, “the route in which the forward route and the return route (reciprocal route) are coincident” means that, as shown in (1), the vehicle Ca such as one lane on one side, multiple lanes on one side can pass each other, and there is only one link L. The present invention is not limited to roads that are not set, and can be applied to the case where the above-described predetermined conditions (2) (A) to (D) are satisfied as necessary.

  Returning to FIG. 4, when the control device 2 determines that there is a route in which the forward route Ra and the return route Rb match (T3: YES), the control device 2 performs the processing after the next step T4. In step T4, the control device 2 calculates the total cost of the outbound path Ra (T4). The total cost of the outbound route Ra indicates the driving load when the user drives the vehicle in the outbound route Ra by one index.

  For example, the total cost from the departure location (current location) to the destination is the distance from the departure location (current location) to the destination, the number of traffic lanes, the number of right turns, the number of left turns, traffic congestion on the This shows the results of counting by replacing each element such as the degree, vehicle traffic restriction on the road, presence / absence of merging and the number of merging, and the number of lane changes as a whole. Note that at least some of these elements may be counted.

  For example, in Japan, “right turn” needs to consider vehicles traveling in the opposite lane, and “left turn” does not need to be done. Therefore, “right turn” has a higher driving load (cost) than “left turn”. Is set. Further, when the traffic road is congested, the driver's stress increases, so the driving load cost is set high. Thus, for each road, the cost can be calculated according to the road mode, the road condition, and the like, and in step T4, the control device 2 can replace the road condition with a numerical value by calculating the total cost of the outbound path Ra. . Even when traveling on the same road for the outbound route Ra and the returning route Rb, the number of right and left turns is different, so the total cost is different even when traveling on the same road.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the total cost of the forward path Ra is lower than the minimum total cost (Ra_min) (T5), and if it is lower, the minimum total cost (Ra_min) of the forward path Ra is updated (T6). The processes in steps T5 and T6 are performed in order to determine the outbound route Ra with the least operating load on the user among the reciprocal routes that satisfy the matching conditions of the outbound route Ra and the returning route Rb.

  Next, the total cost of the return route Rb is calculated (T7), and it is determined whether or not the total cost of the return route Rb is below the minimum total cost (Rb_min) (T8). Rb_min) is updated (T9). The processing of these steps T7 to T9 is performed to determine the return path Rb with the smallest operating load on the user among the round-trip paths that satisfy the matching conditions of the forward path Ra and the return path Rb.

  Then, it is determined whether or not the calculation of the cost has been completed by searching all the routes in which the outbound route Ra and the returning route Rb (reciprocal route) coincide with each other from the current position to the destination (T10). If the calculation of the total cost of all the outbound routes Ra and the returning route Rb with the matched routes is completed (T10: YES), the process proceeds to step T11. If the calculation is not completed (T10: NO), the process returns to step T1 to repeat the process. As a result, all round-trip routes from the current position to the destination are searched, and the minimum total cost (Ra_min) of the outbound route Ra and the minimum total cost (Rb_min) of the return route Rb according to the round-trip route can be calculated.

  Next, the sum of the total cost of the outbound route Ra and the total cost of the return route Rb that matches the outbound route Ra is calculated and rearranged in ascending order (T11). This is because the rearranged routes are rearranged in ascending order of the total operating load. FIG. 6 shows an example after the total cost of the round trip route is rearranged in ascending order. In FIG. 6, subscripts “1” to “4” are attached to the forward path Ra and the return path Rb to represent the path. The forward path Ra and the return path Rb, which have the same subscript, indicate paths determined to match the forward path Ra and the return path Rb. That is, for example, the forward path Ra2 and the return path Rb2 are determined to be “match” in step T3, and the forward path Ra1 and the return path Rb1 are determined to be “match”.

  As shown in the first row of FIG. 6, when the total cost of the outbound route Ra2 is “102” and the total cost of the return route Rb2 is “103”, the total sum of the total costs is “205”. In this case, since the sum of the total costs is smaller than the sum of the total costs of the other round-trip routes, the priority is the highest. As shown in the second row of FIG. 6, when the total cost of the outbound route Ra3 is “128” and the total cost of the return route Rb3 is “102”, the total sum of the total costs is next to the round trip route (Ra2, Rb2). Since there are few, the priority is set as the 2nd.

  As shown in this example, the total cost of the return route Rb3 is “102”, which is less than the total cost “103” of the return route Rb2, and the driving load by the user may be lighter on the return route Rb3 than the return route Rb2. In consideration of the entire reciprocal route, it is desirable to select a reciprocal route (Ra2, Rb2) with a light total operating load of the reciprocal route. For this reason, the highest priority is given to the round trip routes (Ra2, Rb2) with the smallest total cost of the round trip routes.

  Returning to FIG. 4, the processes after step T12 are executed in ascending order of the total cost of the round trip route. Thereafter, the total cost difference (ΔRa) of the forward path Ra with the minimum total cost (Ra_min) of the forward path Ra is calculated (T12). If the total cost difference ΔRa is not less than the first predetermined value, the process returns to step T12. Repeat the process. When the total cost difference ΔRa falls below the first predetermined value, the process proceeds to step T14. That is, in this step T12, a process of selecting and narrowing the outbound path Ra in which the difference between the total cost of the outbound path Ra and the minimum total cost (Ra_min) is less than the first predetermined value is performed. For example, when the first predetermined value is preset as “5”, in the example shown in FIG. 6, the difference between the total cost “102” and the minimum total cost “102” of the outbound path Ra2 is “0”. Therefore, the condition of step T12 is satisfied.

  Next, in step T14, the total cost difference (ΔRb) between the total cost of the return path Rb and the minimum total cost (Rb_min) of the return path is calculated similarly for the return path, and the total cost difference ΔRb becomes the second predetermined value. If not lower (T15: NO), the process returns to step T12 and is repeated again. When the total cost difference (ΔRb) falls below the second predetermined value, the process proceeds to step T16. That is, in step T15, a process of selecting and narrowing the return path Rb in which the difference between the total cost of the return path Rb and the minimum total cost (Rb_min) is less than the second predetermined value is performed. For example, when the second predetermined value is preset as “5”, in the example shown in FIG. 6, the difference between the total cost “103” and the minimum total cost “102” on the return path Rb2 is “1”. Therefore, the condition of step T12 is satisfied. The first predetermined value and the second predetermined value may be set to the same value or different from each other. Further, the second predetermined value may be set to a smaller value than the first predetermined value. This means that it is difficult to accurately determine the status of the return path when setting the path compared to the outbound path. In other words, it is difficult to judge the road conditions (congestion, etc.) on the return path that will be traveled after a considerable amount of time, compared to the outbound route that is likely to travel immediately (from the time of route setting). Become. Therefore, by making the reference (threshold value) for selecting the return path stricter than that for the outward path, the possibility of being able to cope with such a change increases. In other words, this increases the possibility of selecting a return path (reciprocal path) with less mental load on the user.

  On the condition that the conditions of such steps T12 and T15 are satisfied, the route setting of the forward route Ra and the return route Rb is performed (T16). In this way, the round trip path is narrowed down, and a round trip path that satisfies this condition is set. In this case, since processing is performed in ascending order of the total cost of the round-trip route, a route with the smallest total operation load on the round-trip route can be set.

  In step T3 in FIG. 4, when it is determined that there is no return path that matches the forward path (T3: NO), the control apparatus 2 determines whether all paths have been searched (T17). If the outgoing route and the return route do not match (T17: NO), the user is notified through the display screen of the display device 9 and the speaker 14 such as “There is no road where the round-trip route matches”. Only the return route search process is performed (T19), and the route search process is terminated.

  Thereafter, returning to FIG. 3, the control device 2 performs the screen guidance process (screen display control process) (S3) and performs the forward route guidance process until the destination is reached (S5: YES) (S4). Even if the destination has been reached (S5: YES), the control device 2 stores the departure place in the memory, so if there is a user instruction (S6), the departure place is set as the destination (S7), Screen display processing and return route guidance processing are performed until the destination is reached (S10: YES) (S8, S9). Thereafter, when the vehicle Ca passes through the return route Rb and reaches the destination (original departure place) (S10: YES), the control device 2 ends the route guidance process shown in FIG.

  FIGS. 7A and 7B show a case where the forward path Ra and the return path Rb coincide, and FIGS. 8A and 8B show a case where the forward path Ra and the return path Rb are different. ing. For example, as shown in FIG. 8 (a) and FIG. 8 (b), when the forward path Ra and the return path Rb are different, when the user reciprocates from the departure place (S) to the destination (G), Since the user passes through different roads, the user may feel uneasy.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B, the user returns on the return route Rb that coincides with the outbound route Ra once passed, and thus, for example, a route is set at the departure point (S). Even when traveling, it is possible to increase the user's sense of security even while traveling on the outbound route Ra and the returning route Rb, and to reduce the user's mental burden as much as possible.

  In the above-described step T4, when calculating the total cost of the outbound route Ra, it is preferable to calculate the total cost of the outbound route Ra using time traffic regulation and congestion prediction data. You may specify the time for a user to pass the outward path Ra. In the above-described step T7, when calculating the total cost of the return route Rb, it is preferable to calculate the total cost of the return route Rb using time traffic regulation and congestion prediction data. You may specify the time for a user to pass the return route Rb.

  In addition, for example, software for managing schedule data is incorporated in the control device 2, and a time zone for passing the outbound route Ra is set by the schedule data referred to by the software, and the total cost of the outbound route Ra in the set time zone is set. May be calculated. Similarly, for the return route Rb, a time zone passing through the return route Rb may be set, and the total cost of the return route Rb in the set time zone may be calculated.

  The travel route information and the subsequent action history information may be collected and estimated for each departure place, destination, departure time of the outbound route, and arrival time zone. The total cost of the return route Rb may be calculated in consideration of the time zone during which the user passes the return route by these methods. Then, the total cost of the return route Rb can be calculated in accordance with the actual movement mode of the user, and a more practical route can be searched.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the outbound route Ra is set, a condition that the outbound route Ra and the inbound route Rb coincide with each other is satisfied, and the total cost of the outbound route Ra and the minimum total cost of the outbound route Ra (Ra_min). In order to set a round trip route that satisfies the condition that the difference between the total cost of the return route Rb and the minimum total cost (Rb_min) of the return route Rb is less than the second predetermined value as a search result. The user's sense of security can be increased both when the user travels back and forth along the route, and even when the user travels back and forth from the starting point to the destination, the mental burden on the user can be reduced as much as possible.

  When the total cost of the return route Rb is calculated in consideration of the time zone during which the user passes the return route Rb, the total cost of the return route Rb can be calculated in accordance with the actual movement mode of the user, and a more practical route can be searched. .

(Modification)
In the first embodiment described above, a search is made for a route in which the return route Rb matches the forward route Ra when searching for the forward route Ra. In other words, this indicates that the outbound route Ra that does not match the outbound route Ra is excluded from the route search result. In addition, when searching for only the outbound route Ra, the route becomes an optimum route, and even when only the return route Rb becomes the optimum route, the round trip route is excluded from the route search result.

  For example, the return route Rb3 shown in FIG. 6 is set as the optimum route when the total cost of only the return route Rb is calculated because the total cost matches the minimum total cost (Rb_min). In the above-described embodiment, the reciprocal route (Ra3, Rb3) is excluded.

  In the first embodiment, the forward path Ra is searched for under the conditions satisfying the conditions (1) to (3), but after searching for the forward path Ra with a path satisfying only the condition (1), a predetermined time When the time has passed, the forward path Ra may be searched for along the path to which the condition (2) is added. In addition, it is desirable to search for a round trip route (Ra and Rb) under the condition for setting a round trip route that satisfies the condition of the same link ID in (1). This is because the user's sense of security is further increased because the two-way route of the same link ID makes a round trip on the same road.

  Moreover, you may deform | transform as follows. That is, the control device 2 detects the arrival time of the forward route Ra among the round-trip routes in which the forward route and the return route coincide with each other, further searches the optimum route only for the forward route Ra, and detects the shortest arrival time of the forward route Rb. When there is a divergence of the first predetermined time or more between the arrival time of the outbound route Ra of the round-trip route and the shortest arrival time of the outbound route Ra searched for the optimum route only for the outbound route Ra, the display device 9 The user is notified through the display screen, the speaker 14, etc., and the user is prompted to select a route.

  Conversely, the control device 2 detects the arrival time of the return route Rb of the round trip route, further searches for the optimum route only for the return route Rb, detects the shortest arrival time of the return route Rb, and arrives at the return route Rb of the round trip route. When there is a divergence of the second predetermined time or more between the time and the shortest arrival time of the return route Rb searched for the optimum route only for the return route Rb, the display screen of the display device 9, the speaker 14, etc. The user is notified through and prompts the user to select a route.

  Then, the user makes a round trip route (Ra, Rb) when the round trip routes coincide with each other and arrival times of the forward route and the return route, as well as a shortest arrival route for each of the forward route Ra / return route Rb and an arrival time of the forward route Ra / return route Rb. The user can select a desired route and pass through.

(Second Embodiment)
9 and 10 show a second embodiment of the present invention. The difference from the previous embodiment is that the experience route that has moved in the past is partially applied and has not moved in the past. The route is in the process of searching for a route that partially matches the forward and return routes. The same parts as those of the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted, and different parts will be described below.

FIG. 9 shows an explanatory diagram in a case where a route that has traveled in the past is partially applied and a route in which a forward route and a return route are partially matched is searched for a route that has not traveled in the past.
Now, when the above embodiment is applied, a round-trip route that satisfies the condition where the forward route and the return route coincide with each other is searched regardless of whether the vehicle has traveled in the past. However, for example, even if the forward path and the return path do not coincide with each other, there is no mental burden on the user as long as each road has been used many times in the past. On the other hand, if the road has never traveled, a sense of security can be brought about if the forward and return roads coincide.

  In FIG. 9, a road on which the user has traveled in the past is indicated as R3 (outbound path and return path). This road R3 is a road where the user has driven the vehicle Ca, and is a road that is stored in advance in the internal memory of the control device 2 as movement history information. FIG. 10 shows an example of the movement history information. As shown in FIG. 10, the movement history information indicates information including departure place information (coordinates and time), destination information (coordinates and time), passage route information (link ID of link L), and the like.

  In other words, in order to bring more peace of mind to the user, the round trip route from the point R3z to the departure point S is preferentially guided to R3 (outbound and return routes) that have traveled in the past even if they do not match. As for the round trip route from the point R3z to the destination G, it is preferable to guide the route such that the forward route and the return route according to the round trip route search of the present invention match.

  That is, in the present embodiment, when the user starts searching for a round trip route, the control device 2 passes a part of the search result of the round trip route of the user's set route (set departure place, set destination, set via route). It is determined whether or not the route information (link ID of the link L) is included, and if the information is stored, a round trip route including a part of this route is preferentially searched, but the vehicle has never traveled in the past. The route is searched by the method of the above embodiment.

  In the example of FIG. 9, the control device 2 searches for a round trip route in which the outgoing route Ra2 and the return route Rb2 match from the end R3z of the experience road R3 to the destination (G). Since the user travels back and forth along the route including the experienced road R3 from the departure point (S) to the destination (G), the user can further increase his sense of security. Thereby, a user's mental burden can be reduced as much as possible.

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 11 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. The difference from the previous embodiment is that the route search device is installed outside the moving body, and the movement support mounted on the vehicle from the route search device. The route search information is being transmitted to the terminal device. Portions having the same or similar functions as those of the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, description thereof is omitted, and different portions are described below.

  FIG. 11 shows an explanatory diagram of this embodiment. In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the route search device A is mounted in the navigation device 1 is shown, but in this embodiment, this route search processing is executed by the external center device 20 and the route calculation result is obtained. An example of transferring to the mobility support terminal device 22 through the base station 21 is shown.

  The movement support terminal device 22 is mounted on the vehicle Ca, and the movement support terminal device 22 is mounted with a communication device (not shown) that performs wireless communication processing with the center device 20. The movement support terminal device 22 is wirelessly connected to the center device 20 through the base station 21 and transmits route conditions such as a departure point, a waypoint, and a destination.

  Then, the center device 20 performs the route search process shown in FIG. 4 described above, determines whether or not the total cost described above is satisfied by the route in which the forward route Ra and the return route Rb match, and the route information satisfying the condition Is distributed to the movement support terminal device 22 of the moving body Ca. On the vehicle Ca side, the movement support terminal device 22 supports movement of the vehicle Ca.

  According to the present embodiment, the route search device A is installed outside the vehicle Ca, and the route search information is transmitted from the route search device A to the movement support terminal device 22 mounted on the vehicle Ca. Can receive substantially the same benefits as in the previous embodiment. The movement support terminal device 22 may be electrically connected (for example, LAN connection) to the navigation device 1 of the above-described embodiment, or the navigation device 1 itself may be configured as the movement support terminal device 22. good.

  Note that the movement support terminal device 22 on the vehicle Ca side may include a movement history information collection function for collecting the movement history information described above. The movement support terminal device 22 transmits the information obtained by the movement history information collection function to the center device 20, and the center device 20 has moved to the past obtained from the movement history information of the collected moving body (vehicle Ca, pedestrian). This is applied when the experience route can be partially applied, and the route search is performed for the forward route Ra and the return route Rb of the route portion that has not moved in the past.

  Such movement history information is data that can be permanently stored for each user on the center device 20 side even if the user buys and sells the vehicle Ca. Therefore, even if the user changes the vehicle Ca, the center device 20 centrally manages the movement history information, so that the user can receive almost the same benefits as in the above-described embodiment without being aware of it. This is an effective route search processing form. Further, this movement history information has a huge amount of information. For this reason, even when the processing load is enormous on the movement support terminal device 22 side and processing cannot be completed, the route search processing mode of the present embodiment is a particularly effective processing mode.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and for example, the following modifications or expansions are possible.

Although applied when the data of the node N exists as the map data, the information of the node N may not be included. What is necessary is just to include the information of the link L as map data.
The condition that the difference between the total cost of the forward path Ra and the minimum total cost of the forward path Ra satisfying the conditions in which the forward path Ra and the return path Rb coincide with each other is less than a first predetermined value, and the total cost of the return path Rb and the minimum of the return path Rb In the embodiment, the difference between the total costs is less than the second predetermined value and the search result is the forward route Ra and the return route Rb having the smallest total of the total cost of the forward route Ra and the total cost of the return route Rb. The described conditions may be omitted.

  That is, in step T11, rearrangement is performed in ascending order (ascending order), and processing in steps T12 to T15 is performed in order of decreasing total sum to search the forward path Ra and the return path Rb. However, the processing in step T11 is omitted. Also good.

  Although the embodiment applied to the vehicle Ca as a moving body is mainly shown, it goes without saying that a pedestrian may be used, and the route search device A is not limited to the one mounted on the moving body. The present invention can be applied to mobile devices such as netbooks (personal computers), Internet TVs, mobile phones, smartphones, electronic book terminals, and portable game machines that can be carried by mobile objects.

  In the above embodiment, the processing order of steps T12 to T15 in FIG. 4 is such that the total cost of the forward path is first extracted below the first predetermined value with respect to the minimum total cost, and then the total cost of the return path is Those that are less than the second predetermined value with respect to the minimum total cost were extracted. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and processing may be performed such that candidates are first extracted based on the cost of the return path, and then the extracted candidates are narrowed down based on the cost of the outbound path. In other words, if the current code is used, it is naturally possible to change the processing order as T14 → T15 → T12 → T13 with respect to the current processing order of T12 → T13 → T14 → T15.

  In the drawings, 2 is a control device, 2a is a route search unit (route search means), and A is a route search device.

Claims (11)

Among the round trip routes that satisfy the condition that the forward route and the return route match, the round trip route that minimizes the total cost of the forward route is identified, and the total cost that is less than the first predetermined value from the identified cost of the total cost While extracting the round trip path
Among the extracted round-trip routes, a round-trip route with the minimum total cost of the return route is specified, and a round-trip route consisting of the return route with the total cost with a difference from the specified minimum total cost being less than a second predetermined value is extracted. A route search device comprising route search means for obtaining a search result.   The route search means is a forward route and a return route satisfying the conditions of claim 1, and uses a forward route and a return route having the smallest sum of the total cost of the forward route and the total cost of the return route as a search result of a round trip route. A route search device.   3. The route search apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the route search means calculates a total cost of the forward route in consideration of a time zone passing through the forward route.   The route search device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the route search means calculates a total cost of the return route in consideration of a time zone passing through the return route.   The route searching means partially applies an experience route that has moved in the past, and searches for a route that has partially moved in the past as a round trip route that partially matches the forward route and the return route. The route search device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. When the route search means searches for a route whose round-trip route matches based on map data storing a link of a road with a link ID,
6. The route search device according to claim 1, wherein the forward route and the backward route are determined to coincide with each other on the condition that the forward route and the backward route are roads having the same link ID. When the route search means searches for a route whose round-trip route matches based on map data storing a link of a road with a link ID,
When there is a divergence of the first predetermined time or more between the arrival time of the round trip route where the forward route and the return route coincide with the shortest arrival time of only the forward route, or / and the return route of the round trip route where the forward route and the return route match If there is a discrepancy greater than or equal to the second predetermined time between the arrival time of
7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: searching and notifying a route in which the outbound route and the inbound route coincide with each other, an arrival time of the outbound route / inbound route, a shortest arrival route for each outbound route / inbound route, and an arrival time of the outbound route / inbound route. A route search device according to any one of the above. When the route search means searches for a route whose round-trip route matches based on map data storing a link of a road with a link ID,
When the forward path and the return path are roads with different link IDs, there is no road name or they are the same, the road type is the same, the direction difference indicating the link direction of the link ID is within a predetermined value, and each link 8. The route search device according to claim 1, wherein it is determined that the forward path and the backward path coincide with each other with a predetermined condition that a distance between the IDs is within a predetermined distance. When the route search means searches for a route whose round-trip route matches based on map data storing a link of a road with a link ID,
When the forward route and the return route are roads having different link IDs, it is determined that the forward route and the return route are matched on condition that the predetermined condition is satisfied for the links before and after the highway interchange and the junction link. The route search device according to claim 8. When the route search means searches for a route whose round-trip route matches based on map data storing a link of a road with a link ID,
When the forward path and the return path are roads with different link IDs, it is determined that the forward path and the return path coincide with each other on the condition that both the links are one-way and the accessible directions are opposite to each other. The route search device according to claim 8 or 9. A method of searching for a route by a route search device,
The route search device identifies a round-trip route having a minimum total cost of the forward route among round-trip routes satisfying a condition where the forward route and the return route match, and a difference from the specified minimum total cost is less than a first predetermined value. the round-trip route to extract made from the total cost of the forward path of which is,
The route search device specifies a round trip route in which the total cost of the return route is the smallest among the extracted round trip routes, and a return route of the total cost in which a difference from the specified minimum total cost is less than a second predetermined value. A route search method characterized by extracting a round trip route consisting of and making a search result.

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